Light emitting diodes (LEDs) have been widely used in many applications to replace conventional incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps, neon tube lamps and fiber optic lights. LEDs consume much less electrical power, are far more reliable, and exhibit much longer lifetimes, than their conventional counterparts. As a result, LEDs have been configured to replace conventional light sources for many applications. For example, LED lamps have been. developed to replace screw-in incandescent light bulbs for traffic signals (as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,336), and exit signs (as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,416,679, 5,459,955, 5,526,236, 5,688,042, 5,949,347). In each case, the LEDs are mounted onto a lamp housing having a conventional threaded electrical connector that engages with the threaded socket connector in the traffic signal lamp or exit sign. Thus, retrofitting the traffic signal and exit signs simply involves unscrewing the conventional lamp and screwing in the LED lamp.
Retrofitting with LED lamps the vast numbers of backlit commercial and street name signs, which utilize fluorescent lighting, is more problematic. These signs typically include a housing containing one or more fluorescent tube lamps, and one or more translucent face plates (sidewalls) that are back-illuminated by the fluorescent lamp(s) (i.e. to form characters, designs, symbols, etc.). FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate a conventional backlit street name sign, which includes a housing 1, a pair of fluorescent tube lamps 2 and a pair of opposing translucent face plates 3 that indicate a street name. Each of the fluorescent tube lamps 2 are connected to and suspended by a pair of electrical connectors 4, which are well known in the art. Connectors 4 have receptacles that accept and make electrical connections with a pair of standard electrical pins protruding from each end of the fluorescent tube lamp 2. Connectors 4 physically support the fluorescent tube lamp by the pins, as well as apply an operating voltage across them. The face plates 3 are angled slightly downwardly for better viewing from below. FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a conventional backlit commercial sign, where there is only a single translucent face plate 3 (which is not angled downwardly), and three fluorescent tube lamps 2 for illumination.
Replacing the short-lifespan fluorescent tube lamps in conventional backlit commercial and street name signs can be difficult, because such signs are typically elevated and inaccessible, disposed over roadways, and/or hard to open. What is worse is that there is no standard size for such signs, for the fluorescent tube lamps 2 used therein, and for the spacing between opposing electrical connectors 4. Thus, designing an LED lamp retrofit that fits a wide variety of such signs, that evenly and sufficiently illuminates such signs, and that is easy to install without the need for special tools, has been difficult. Adding to that difficulty is the fact that many such signs are suspended in a way where the sign rocks, vibrates and shakes in the wind.
There is a need for a versatile LED lamp design for retrofitting conventional backlit commercial and street name signs that is easy to install and fits in a variety of sign sizes and configurations.